This was a really sweet movie about life in a small Texas town. While it might stretch your imagination to believe that a high school principal could find true love with the school janitor, it isn't hard to believe what happens when the town folks find out about it. Bigotry is still alive and well in the good old USA. I found myself rooting for true love.
14 Reviews
A feel-good well-acted movie about bigotry and courage.
nz man4 April 1999
Many IMDB users rated this movie 10 out of 10, and I can see why. The two main actors do a super job and there is a fine script. Well OK, look, this is no Academy Award winner, and it is a 'made-for-TV' film. However it is still worth renting it on video or catching it on TV. Just sit back and ENJOY the light-hearted romance. My wife and I laughed and cheered along with the events on screen that unfold in the small Texan town. I suppose if it were analyzed by a New York or Chicago film critic it would be torn to bits, especially due to the many cliches portrayed. I don't care. It is a great film and we both thoroughly liked it. Right from the very first minute we knew that we chose a good video. BTW, the Hispanic grandfather is wonderful - you cannot help loving this guy. Have fun watching this one!
Fun, different, thoughtful -- a refreshing break
spteos29 June 2000
I saw Crazy from the Heart when it came out, so this was rerun time nine years later. And the movie was better the second time around!! Christine Lahti cannot make a bad film; I think she's one of the most underrated actresses of our time (though she does have an Academy Award nomination). What makes "Crazy" sing is the performance by Ruben Blades (and doing love scenes with the director's wife had to be a daunting task) and the unique, small-town setting and approach. This story gently touched on the racism so common in our society, but it did so in an educational and positive way instead of the in-your-face style that gets so old. This movie took you to Tidelands, took you back to high school, took you into middle age, made you think and feel, presented real people in a very real story and made it fun. If the industry put more of this in the theater, more us of plus-40s would go more than once a year.
I love this movie
xandejo9 September 2006
Crazy From The Heart is one of my all time favorite movies. I love the scene when Christine and Ruben sing together at the beach. I read somewhere that this scene was impromptu. The story is heart warming and sincere. Ruben Blades was fantastic in this film and so believable that even I fell in love with his character. This movie touches on some unfortunate social problems. Who does not cheer for the Grandfather when you know that he was the one who burned the billboard? All of us should be so brave to stand up for our beliefs. Anyway it is a sweet love story that makes you feel good. I wanted to buy this movie but I found out that it is not available on VHS or DVD to purchase. After reading the other reviews I think there a lot of us that would like to be able to buy the movie. It is one of those movies that I could watch over and over.
Mexico
jml740315 January 2007
This movie was wonderful. I have watched it over and over. The best part started the minute they drove into Mexico and that music started. My husband assured me that you don't REALLY hear music the minute you arrive in Mexico, but it worked for me!! A+++ I fell in love with Ruben Blades, and Christine Lahti is always graceful, beautiful and a lady. (Loved her in Swingshift) I enjoyed how she finally realized what is important in a relationship. She really told off the school board! When he talked to her in the back of the truck with all the candles lit was so romantic, he could have talked me into marrying him too! All and all this was an amazing movie. I can believe it was a made-for-TV movie!
Please release Crazy From the Heart on DVD
joe-23402520 October 2007
I love this movie...have rented it numerous times on VHS and have watched it over and over when it has appeared on TV. Please, please, please release it on DVD. It is one of those feel good movies with great acting that is so hard to find...one you can sit back and enjoy on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It seems, after visiting this site, that there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way I do. Memorable roles for Blades and Lahti and the actor who portrayed his father...I just loved him. If Thomas Schlamme or Christine Lahti visit this site perhaps you can have some influence over the powers that be to release this movie, on DVD. Who knows, you may find a whole new generation of fans of "Crazy From the Heart".
Swept me away
Mamakishbaw-115 September 2009
I recently watched this again after over 10 years, a friend had it at her house. I must get one! This is where I first fell in love with Reuben Blades...ah, Ernesto, Ernesto, Ernesto..a man to melt your heart with those beautiful eyes, sincere demeanor. I could listen to him talk all day. His warmth just comes right out at you. Lahti's performance was thoughtful and touching, but did not convince me of her position. Perhaps I am only jealous. Nice sentiment of not so much love conquers all, but more that life is rough to everyone, we all have barricades, maybe we need to hold on to someone who loves us. I am a cynic about love, and I have to say that I have never seen ANY movie that made me reconsider my options the way this one does. It touches something inside. I actually cried. It makes one believe in falling in love once more. THAT is a good, good thing.
Lighthearted and genuine fun
caroleliza19 February 2000
This well-written film resonates with warmth and truth. An unusual plot, with memorable characters, especially those played by Lahti and Blades. The chemistry between these two is fantastic. Why was this film never released theatrically? What a waste!!! I heartily recommend this film. It will take you out of whatever funk you're in!!!
Please Stream Somewhere!
acbmosaics6 April 2020
OOP but not entirely unavailable
bedufford15 February 2007
My husband & I love this movie, & all the comments about the wonderful cast & engaging story noted here are echoed by us. Fun chance to see Mary Kay Place & Brent Spiner in all-too-small roles, too. It was our first introduction to Christine Lahti & we became solid fans as a result; Blades is wonderful too, as is all the supporting cast. In response to xandejo's comment about the movie not being out on VHS or DVD, a little net research shows that it's out-of-print, but (usually used) copies on VHS are still out there & available--high priced ones at amazon.com, & cheaper ones at the moment on ebay. This film is charming & is definitely worth searching for! No DVD is available, unfortunately.
A great romantic comedy-drama about two people who have to choose between listening to their hearts, or to their whispering neighbors.
interpreter2 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is a great little movie that I happened to find 2nd-hand in Dublin in a video store liquidation sale. How sad that it never really seems to have got much play on TV over here. Can't get it on DVD, as far as I can tell.
Nice script with well-developed characters, but an even better ensemble cast made up of some of the best actors in the business. Lahti and Blades are great, and the highly under-appreciated William Russ is wonderful, as is everyone else involved in this gem.
The main characters try to work their budding attraction and love for each other into their lives, fending off first their own preconceived notions, and then those of their families, friends and colleagues.
Nice script with well-developed characters, but an even better ensemble cast made up of some of the best actors in the business. Lahti and Blades are great, and the highly under-appreciated William Russ is wonderful, as is everyone else involved in this gem.
The main characters try to work their budding attraction and love for each other into their lives, fending off first their own preconceived notions, and then those of their families, friends and colleagues.
Hollywood AND TV-LAND - please give us more movies like this !!!
khnumber84 August 2012
I can't add more about the plot of this wonderful film... others have said enough. I will simply say that this film renews your belief in true love, and it does so through the wonderful story of an improbable love. Others have commented on how wonderful Ruben Blades is in this movie... I hadn't heard of him before watching this, and now I am a big fan. (He's a wonderful and famous musician as well as actor). PLEASE EVERYONE READING THIS POST... if you appreciate movies like "Crazy from the Heart"... let's all write to the movie studios and TV stations to try and get them to produce more films of quality, uplifting stories, intelligent plots, and fine actors (as opposed to the trashy stuff we usually get). It's NOT JUST "older" viewers who appreciate films like this one, many younger people long for more meaning in their entertainment, and less violence and STUPIDITY !!!
Unexpected Ironies
lybychick21 June 2004
This simple little film may have been made for TV, but I continue to be amazed by the quality of the cast even though I've watched it a dozen times.
I was especially amazed when I realized the irony of casting decisions...especially with Belita Moreno (Robie Stiles' mother). This character exudes the venomous bigotry of Tidewater -- white trash feeling superiority to Mexican-Americans for no other reason than race -- and for this role to be performed convincingly by a latina is extraordinary. A quick comparison between Bebe Stiles and Benny Lopez (George's mother on the George Lopez show) shows an incredible range. This was also the first film in which I saw Brent Spiner and forgot just for a moment that he might be an android.
I was especially amazed when I realized the irony of casting decisions...especially with Belita Moreno (Robie Stiles' mother). This character exudes the venomous bigotry of Tidewater -- white trash feeling superiority to Mexican-Americans for no other reason than race -- and for this role to be performed convincingly by a latina is extraordinary. A quick comparison between Bebe Stiles and Benny Lopez (George's mother on the George Lopez show) shows an incredible range. This was also the first film in which I saw Brent Spiner and forgot just for a moment that he might be an android.
Great melodrama about a sensitive subject. Tastefully done.
14-225 May 1999
I thought Christine Lahti and Rubén Blades gave award-winning performances. The script was extremely well-written and avoided the stereotypical Latino characters we are all too familiar with. The storyline was great with enough twists and turns to keep it moving along nicely. I was thoroughly drawn into the story and was pleasantly surprised on more than a few occasions by the characters, the dialogue and the action. William Russ, Louise Latham and Tommy Muñiz all deserve kudos for their portrayals as does Mary Kay Place who seems to deliver at every opportunity regardless of the genre. See it!
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